Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello - Would like to share our story so far.
This site has given me so much advice and information that I was able to make an educated decision on Mistletoes diagnoses on the 9th Sep, bone cancer. !!! A massive thank you to you all.
It was a "no brainer" for me to have her front left leg amputated, Jim on the other hand was unsure. As was my Mother and some work colleagues. But once Jim had looked at the site and the amazing dogs that have had quality of life, he was convinced, totally!!
Mistletoe had her OP on Tuesday the 13th (at least is wasn't a Friday). Amazing, within 1 day, she was able to get up and hop (ish). She got home this Friday night (16th). What wonderful vets we have, we could have had her home a day earlier, but they were very open and honest. They were concerned that she hadn't passed water. AS WERE WE. The up-date on Friday was, she had pee'd the bed. !!! You can't imagine my joy !!! (under normal circumstances I would have been very red faced and apologetic)
Worry - how do you get a 53 kilo Saint Bernard in to the back of a Jeep ?? Help was at hand, a local taxi driver (friend of the family) has a wheelchair access people carrier. After picking meds and Mistletoe up, we then had a really easy walk in and out of the taxi.
We didn't have to wait long before our next problem, she needed out the back garden !! Again this wonderful dog made it easily (although clumsy) down the 2 steps. Eventually she managed to position herself and with great relief ( for her and her 2 parents) her bladder worked.
Slept through the night and well in to the morning.
Having trouble giving her the tablets. Not a stupid girl, has worked out how to eat any meat wrapped around the pill and spit the pill out. Now trying to throw pills direct down throat. Not always successful, if we don't get it right, she hides pill and spits out when she thinks we're not looking.!! Trying to get painkiller correct, our vet has given us enough to give her 2 morning, noon, and night. With the advice, she may only need 1, play it by ear.
That's where we are right now. Any tips, advice would be gratefully taken.
Fiona and Jim
Hello and welcome.
Sounds like Mistletoe is doing well so far.
Here is a link to a blog post on how to Pill a Dog, at the bottom of the post there are some links to other ideas on giving pills.
My strategy has always been to make the pill and whatever I use small enough so that my dogs swallow it without chewing...not always easy with pugs! Maggie, my first pug and Tripawd, was very suspicious and had a long memory...if she found a pill in one type of food like chicken then she wouldn't eat chicken again for weeks! I've had good luck lately with pill paste, but that didn't work with Mag. The best thing I found with her was to melt a little piece of cheddar cheese in the microwave to get it soft. Then wrap the pill and give it to her after a couple other small pieces of plain melted cheese. Of course you let the cheese cool before feeding, but some of the natural fat in the cheese melts and provides a slippery coating.
The recovery period can be full of ups and downs, don't be surprised if Mistletoe seems to regress a bit in the next day or two. It's not uncommon for dogs to 'crash' after they get home from the hospital. You also want to keep ahead of the pain to keep her comfortable- what meds did you come home with?
Be strong and positive around your girl and soon she will be amazing you!
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Hi Mistletoe and Family - What a Beautiful girl you are! So sorry you have to be taking this journey
Patch the Pirate (Patchy) is our St. Bernard 145 lbs. He lost his leg to cancer on March 25th. He is doing very well and we do not have any regrets. He is living each day in the moment as we are and he is pain free
I would strongly suggest you get a support harness for her, it is so helpful when they need to get up or down and also to load up in the Jeep. I have a jeep as well and with harness it is much easier to get him in and out.
We use liverworst spread to get his meds down him and it works pretty well the smell is quite strong and the stickiness makes it hard for him to get the pill out. 
I have a blog on this site called "living in the moment" that I am updating often about our Journey with PatchyPlease check it out and I hope that it is an encouragement to you.
This site is amazing and everyone here are supportive, keep in close touch it is very helpful.
Hugs to you from Summer and Patchy XXXX
Here is a link to Patch's blog Living in the Moment.
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Aww, she has a sweet face! And I love that name. My guy was really hard to pill as well - at first, hiding them in hot dogs worked (I'd cut them into pieces and stick the pill inside. He figured that out after a couple of days. Now I use peanut butter. Big dollop of peanut butter to obscure the pill has done the trick for us. I did try the "down the hatch" method as well, but it was really hit and miss for us. Peanut butter has been 100% success rate.
Hugs for you and Mistletoe!
Kristin & goofball Clyde
I should add that he's off the big pain killers and has been for some time. He takes Rimadyl on an as needed basis, and even though its supposed to be chewable, he won't take it without the peanut butter. The worst one for us during his initial recovery was the Tramadol - that's really bitter, and he could taste it in everything except the peanut butter.
lawcat said
I should add that he's off the big pain killers and has been for some time. He takes Rimadyl on an as needed basis, and even though its supposed to be chewable, he won't take it without the peanut butter. The worst one for us during his initial recovery was the Tramadol - that's really bitter, and he could taste it in everything except the peanut butter.
Peanut butter is our go to. We are using it for everything - even the low dose oral chemo Pofi is taking. Nothing else works consistently, but Jif Natural sweetened with Honey is ideal in my eyes. No xylitol, palatable, and not a goopy mess. He takes his twice daily pills including bitter tasting Tramadol when needed with Jif.
Lisa, Minneapolis
On October 27, 2016, nearly 6 months after amputation, and 18 months since his cancer likely started, we lost Pofi to a recurrence of Soft Tissue Sarcoma in his spine quite suddenly. His canine sister also succumbed to cancer on March 1, 2019 - we lavished her with our love in the interim, but life was never quite the same without her only real canine friend. Cliff kitty had to leave us, too, suddenly, in August 2019. Lucia kitty grieved all these losses, but helped us welcome two new Lurchers into our home and our lives, Shae and Barley.
I have a St. Bernard named Mollie. She was my Mother's dog. My Mother passed away March 22. Mollie was at her home in Montana, along with Keko, a long haired sharpei. We got them home to California in May.......however Mollie had osteosarcoma in her left front knee. After much deliberation with my vet, I made the choice to have her leg amputated just below her shoulder. Her surgery was also on a Tuesday, August 2. I think I lost weight before and after the surgery. I am 70 years old and live alone. I just kept thinking, "What will I do if she can't get up and walk?" Well of course Mollie has amazed all of us, including my vet. As soon as she woke up after surgery she popped up on three legs. The first two weeks were hard because I was getting up every six hours to give her pain meds and anti-biotics every eight hours. She had her stitches out two weeks later........and has continued to improve. Good luck to you and Mistletoe.
Hi and welcome jjdubose, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
I'm sorry about your mother- that's a tough thing. It's wonderful that you took in your mom's dogs, although I'm sorry you are dealing with OSA. Thank you for sharing your story here.
Please consider starting a new thread in a separate topic to tell us more about you and your pups.
Also, there are many of us in California, what part of the state are you in?
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Thank you all for advice.
Tried peanut butter, only because we had some in cupboard. Obviously, peanut butter is licked, not eaten !!! Also tried cheese,(by now she knows there's something going on) turned nose up at that as well. With nothing else to do, wrapped cheese around tablet and throw it down throat, success. Not spat, shaken or pushed out. What a Madam. !!
I'm hoping we've gone through our down day, if Mistletoe wore pyjamas, we had a pyjamas day. She slept through until dinner time, only showing signs of life when woken for drugs and food, not that she was interested in either.
Drugs ? - was asked in one of my replies.
Rimadyl 100mg x 1 and half daily
Tramadaol 50mg x 2 capsules three times a day. ( This one I can lower, vet thought 1 three times would be all she would need)
Noroclav 250mg x 2.75 tablets twice a day. (antibiotics)
Please keep coming with advice and tips, Hope Patch my new Saint Bernard friend is doing well, did read your blog before making THE decision for amputation. You are our inspiration.
Fiona and Jim, Mistletoe is sleeping.
MISTLETOE is resting and understands tne importance of pajama day for a few days!' She IS a smart girl!
The hospital meds are out of her system by now and so she may be having the "normal" bit of a crash. It is MAJOR surgery and it hurts! Pluxps, her muscles are sore and strained as she's readjusting to her new gait.
It sounds like you have a good handle in her pain meds. Resting, potty breaks, all she needs right now. Not wanting to eat is normal for some dogs. Try any and all goodies for.nkw...chicken, cheeseburgers, scrambled eggs and bacon, cheese pizza, etc. Is she drinking okay?? Let js k kw when she poops. We celebrate anything around here!
I'll just add one more pill "technique should you need it. Apparently Tramadol truly is a bitter pill to swallow. Very, very nasty tasting. They can smell it a mile away once they've had to take it. It's important not to get the scent on your hands. Ake a little pocket in stinky liverwurst. Pick the pill up with tweezers...drop it in...rollit I to a ball without your hands ever touching the pill. Toss two kr three liverwurst balls to MISTLETOE. The third or fourth in has the pill...YUM!!
Try and get some rest. This recovery part is "intense"......moreso for humans than dogs!
Stay connected! We are here for you!!
Hugs!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS. If MISTLETOE isn't a bit perkier in a day or two and yiu feel like the pain is being managed, you can try a slight reduced dosage like your vet suggested.
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Hi Mistletoe and family 🐾❤️
My girl Eurydice is a 69 kg Great Dane who lost her right front leg to osteosarcoma 4 1/2 months ago.
The first weeks were challenging but after stitches came our everything got much, much better.
She, just like your baby, has learnt to identify pills and after a while nothing worked so in the end I had to "throw" the pills as quickly as possible to the back of her throat and most times she would swallow first time, other times I would have to repeat it once more. It isn't what I would like, but needs must ...
As for food, she lost her appetite after surgery and what worked for us was grilled chicken alternating with boiled chicken with a bit of olive oil added in the water for extra flavour.
You are doing a great job 👍🏼 so hang in there and before you know it the worst part of recovery will be over and your girl will be enjoying her new life, full of energy 💪🏽
We are all here to help and advise the best we can so stay connected 📡
Sending you a big hug and cuddles to your gorgeous girl 🐶🐾😘
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
Gosh ... how sad so many pawrents are going through this !! and cats (we have 4 cats). Just realizing the extent of amputation in our family animals. It is so WRONG!!
In the last few days Mistletoe has been a star, and then a lazy girl. Sally you are so right, she knows what she needs, wants, and will get. She knows. And we won't push her.
In the way of drugs, we're wrapping tablets in cheese and it's working. 
Monday was a busy day, over the years we have met lots of doggy people, and a big one was Auntie Izzy, our groomer. She has closed her grooming doors and is now doing holistic dog therapy. Please don't turn channels. 
What a wonderful experience.
Mistletoe had a few visitor, but not happy to lie down, she was up on her feet and leaning to get cuddles. (just like pre OP days)
Tuesday - very tired. Think we/she over done it.
Today - sullen start of day. We decided to get lead out and reaction was UP, HERE i AM, we walked her out the back door and around to the front. (At this point I have to tell you we are not in a mansion).
Feeling good so far, stiches out on Friday. We're taking it day by day, hour by hour.
One question - has anyone used the herbal therapy -Artemisinin . There is a topic about this subject and done some research on internet. Will consult vet on Friday.
Fiona and Jim, Mistletoe sleeping. x
Hi mistletoe and family, so glad you are on the mend. Remember to take it slow and i know that is hard, patchy did to much shortly after surgery aND then started falling alot. Kind of made him sad for awhile cause he lost some confidence. Once he rested for several d
ays he got strong again and now doesn't fall as much anymore. He has a rough wear harness that helps alot when I need to lay down or getting in the Jeep for adventures. Please let your family know that my girl is here for you for support she takes such good care of me and does alot of research for good things for me.mostly though she just gives me aND all my pack lots of love. We are all cheering for you as you continue to get well. Much love patchy and my girl summer 🙂
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